Is What is Growing on Your Roof Entering Your Home?

So you know that the things that land on your roof and grow there can damage your roof. Did you know that all those things can also enter your home? Big deal, you may think. It is a big deal. Many of the things growing on your roof and ending up in your home can cause serious health issues and cost you tens of thousands of dollars to repair.

Many different things can grow on your roof: Algae, lichens, moss, fungi, mildew and mold, spores from all of them can cause allergies or worse. In fact that’s how they got on your roof in the first place. Spores in the air flow onto your roof and find a place to flourish. Most of them are kept out of your home because of air filtration systems, but once they take root on your roof the path inside is a much easier one. Rain storms can wash spores onto walkways and driveways. That gets the spores in the home by being tracked in on shoes. That’s a minor way. The biggest is because of the destruction process of the roofing materials. Once they get through the roofing tiles and underlayment, the mold, algae or whatever else is growing can move into the home between wall spaces and flourish because of the leaks you now have in your roof.

Algae, moss or lichens can cause hay fever like allergies. Molds produce allergens, irritants, and mycotoxins. Minor allergic reactions are as simple as hay fever like allergies and rashes. But molds can also cause serious reactions such as asthma attacks or irritation of the eyes, skin, nose, throat, and lungs. In some cases these reactions have caused death. These aren’t minor “no big deal” things growing on your roof and making their way into your home.

Keep your roof clean. Contact a roofing professional to help you get on an appropriate schedule and safe method of cleaning your roof.